Winner
by KilataraMutt
Summary: Competition is the name of the game. All you have to worry about are the stakes and hope you win this round. *shonen-ai warning*
1. Winner

**_Pawsy:_** Wooow… my first Beast Wars story… on ffn… I liiiikee… >_normal voice>_ I don't own Beast Wars. Dayze belong to Hasbro… I think… but the story is mine! Mine, you hear me! >_breaks into insane laughter>_  
**_Tarantulas:_** Calm down, kitty…  
**_Pawsy:_** >_blink, blink>_ Kitty? >_serval ears flop down>_ Serval. Not kitty. Sserval. >_grr!>_ Anyway, here's the story. Hope you enjoy, please review, and all flames will be used to warm my tundra of a house! >_whine>_ How can it possibly be this cold in the south? >_whiiiiine>_

**>>>>>>>>>>>>>**

**Winner**

As another day ends on Prehistoric Earth, the fuzor, Silverbolt, soars towards the Axalon. With his back to the sunset, the sharp sunlight lines his darkened beast form. His emotions run wild, both pleased but guilty with a recent visit with Black Arachnia. Every time he goes, his spark skips at the thrill of seeing his beloved but plummets at the thought of the secret romance. Sometimes, he'd even help her by bringing her items he smuggled off the Axalon. These thoughts add to the sick feeling that has started, but he quickly shakes them off. After all, it is worth it. It is all worth it for his beloved.

As he gets closer, he sees Cheetor taking flight.

"An odd time to do recon," the fuzor says to himself before descending upon the ship. He lands and transforms just in time for the entrance panel to lower. He calmly walks onto it and waits to be risen into the ship. When the glass panel rise allowing him to entering the main room, he sees Rhinox and Rattrap monitoring the screens. Rhinox looks calm as ever while Rattrap continuously fidgets with the computer controls.

"Something wrong, Rattrap?" the fuzor asks kindly.

"You tell me!" the rodent notions to the scanner screen, "For some reason, it seems the screen tries to register a Predacon signature. The thing is, the signal comes in short glitches, if at all! Obviously, they are trying to cover the signal…"

"Really?" the fuzor fidgets slightly, now curious to the fact that he could've been followed. He mentally gave a short prayer to the Matrix for his theory to be wrong.

"The worse part is that it seems to be near the base," the rodent snarls in frustration. "And we've walked through the base and Cheetor's started on recon outside and Rhinox thinks I'm going crazy!"

The bot looks over to his smaller comrade and sighs.

"I'm just saying I haven't seen a Pred signature at all on the screen. We've done a search inside and it turned up cold. And so far we've heard nothing from Cheetor," Rhinox states.

Silverbolt hides his relief from the others since this has obviously been going on for a while. This ruled out the idea of him being followed.

"There it goes again!" Rattrap shouts, snapping the fuzor out of his thoughts. He quickly looks at the screen. Nothing. Now concerned, Silverbolt places a hand on Rattrap's shoulder.

"Rattrap, you maybe over stressed. You have been in need of rest lately," he states. After all, the rodent has been constantly helping Rhinox with the scanners, updating the defenses, and then there have been the more than usual battles with the Predacons.

The rat recoils in anger and stands up.

"Well, I'll just go give Optimus the heads up and see what he says!" the over confused bot snaps and storms down the hallway. He finally stops before the familiar scene of his leader's room entrance. Any second now, the door will alert Optimus of his arrival, and the ape bot will allow entry.

Strangely, that didn't happen this time. In fact, Rattrap has been waiting three cycles when he finally taps his hand against the door.

"Uh, Boss Monkey? You in there?" Rattrap asks followed by a short period of silence.

"Rattrap?" is the only reply.

"Yeah, it's, uh, me," Rattrap says curiously. Another moment of silence passes before the metallic door slides open. A slightly worn Optimus stands in the doorway.

"Hello, Rattrap. Do you need something?" the Maximal leader states.

"Are you ok?" Rattrap asks. Optimus is caught off guard by the question at first, but quickly regains his normal appearance.

"I apologize for my appearance. I just finished a training regimen, and was at the moment resting. I'm also sorry when I didn't hear your coming at first. Shouldn't have made you wait." Rattrap stares at his commander strangely, as if he had a small problem believing him. Optimus sees the rodent's expression and shrugs it off.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Optimus asks again. Rattrap then remembers his reason for being there.

"Uh, yeah," the rat shakes his head of his wandering thoughts before continuing. "Believe it or not, I think the Preds are up to something."

"Oh really?" Optimus looks surprised, even though Predacon attacks had been happening constantly recently.

"Are you sure?" the ape asks.

"Well, the computer tends to register a Pred signature near or in the ship. Briefly, but still there." The Maximal leader looks to the side as if to calculate this thought. He turns back to Rattrap.

"Have you done a search to prove this?"

"Well, we've completed in indoor search but we're coming up short with results."

"What about outside?"

"Cheetor's on it. So far…er…we have nothing…" the rodent mutters. Optimus thinks this over a moment.

"Is there a possibility that the scanners have a glitch in them?"

"I don't think so. Rhinox and I just checked them out yesterday!"

"Of course, of course, I remember," the Maximal leader nods then looks at his comrade. He can now see that the rodent is worn out from lack of sleep.

"You know, Rattrap. Maybe you should rest," Rattrap looks shocked suddenly. "You could be seeing things. Especially with all the battles we've had recently, it's no surprise you'd see a Predacon signature." Rattrap slams a foot down.

"Oh, not you too! That's it! I'm done! I'll leave you to rest now, good day!" the rodent snarls and makes his way back towards the scanners. Optimus watches him leave, shaking his head in concern. He isn't worried too much about Rattrap, though. Sooner or later, the others are going to get him to sleep, by force if necessary.

For now, he shifts his thoughts to his room. He watches the door slide close and lock. Turning around, he faces his desk and the large center window behind it. He sees Cheetor soar by, but doesn't bother to wave at the young bot. Even if he had, Cheetor wouldn't have seen him. Optimus had long ago discovered that a special shield could be raised to cover the glass, allowing him to see out with no one seeing in. As the cat disappears from his view, Optimus walks toward a side of his room. He shakes his head with a sigh then looks up to various containment lockers stand attached to the wall.

"He's gone," Optimus says out loud. On cue, a door to one of the areas starts to open. Before it can fully open, a figure quickly falls out. Optimus stifles a laugh at the accident. As the figure helps himself up, the Maximal leader falls strict.

"Did you hear that?" he states to his hidden visitor.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for asking," the figure mutters as they dust off their body. Optimus shrugs his shoulders and sighs a bit.

"This is serious," Optimus states. "Rattrap saw a Predacon signal. He could see it again, Megatron." The Predacon leader halts in whatever he was thinking and looks to the Maximal. He lazily shrugs the worry away.

"He shouldn't have," Megatron states. Optimus walks up to the Pred and holds his right arm.

"Are you sure that device hides the Predacon signal from the scanners?" Megs looks down at the metallic band around his wrist.

"Of course it does. It hasn't failed once yet," the Pred replies. In frustration, Optimus paces towards the other side of the room. He stops at the other side of the desk, his back turned towards the Predacon.

"Maybe it's finally beginning to wear down, then," the bot continues to find a solution.

"No… that seems too soon. I gave it a quick test run before coming!" the Predacon says as he follows the Maximal's path. He stops right behind Optimus, sensing the tenseness coming from the ape. Thinking for a moment, a smirk appears on his face. He lightly wraps his arms around the Maximal.

"It's just a glitch, right?" the Pred leader says in a low tone. He lays his head on the Maximal's left shoulder.

"Probably from it getting…bumped around…" he adds in a playful voice. Not amused, Optimus tries to move out of Megatron's hold.

"Stop it. You realize they all could find out about this… us!" Optimus snaps, but Megatron continues to hold the Maximal, now leaning his face up to Optimus's cheek.

"And what's wrong with us?" Megatron asks.

"Nothing! At least… not for us," Optimus calms slightly for a moment. "But for everyone else, they still see us at war!"

"Mm-hmm," is all the Predacon says as he nuzzles into the Maximal's neck. Optimus twitches a bit from the touch but continues.

"And what of the 'Beast Wars,' huh? With our recent 'turn of events,' how can we create a victor?" The Predacon stops his nuzzling instinct for a moment and thinks this over.

"Well, if you win and the other Maximal Elders find you, I will die," Megatron states, his voice losing its edge. Sensing nervousness, Optimus sighs and thinks of different solution.

"That's if we turn you over to the Predacon council. Suppose you surrender or we hold you for the Maximal council, you could get a lighter sentence," he looks up slightly and softly smiles, "Maybe a sentence of being under my watch…" Megatron hears this and purrs slightly.

"Yesss… an interesting possibility, indeed," he strokes a hand up Optimus's chest plate to a position where he can pull the ape closer. Optimus responds by leaning back.

"And what if you win?" the Maximal curiously asks. Megatron nuzzles against the Maximal again.

"Very simple," he says calmly. "Your group would be dominated by my rule and you would be dominated by me," Megatron says as he pulls Optimus closer. Optimus laughs at the comment.

"You are evil!" the Maximal cheers.

"That's why I'm the bad guy," the Predacon muses and starts with a kiss on the Maximal's cheek and then proceeds to cover Optimus's neck with long, passionate kisses. A small moan emits from the Maximal's voice box. Just as Optimus is finally getting into the flow of things, Megatron stops his embracing, much to the Maximal's disappointment.

"Maybe no one should win," Megatron states, catching Optimus's attention. Seeing the curious expression on his lover's face, Megatron rewards Optimus with another round of softly ravishing the Maximal's neck, breaking only for a few random moments to speak.

"I mean… why bother… with a winner. Why can't we just… just play this war… forever?"

"Hmm?" Optimus manages to say between his whimpers.

"What's the point… of a victor? If anything… it risks us…"

"Risks us?" the Maximal squirms slightly as the Predacon's hand trace across the chest plate gently. His left hand moves back up while the right traces a finger across the Maximal's lower torso, causing Optimus to shiver.

"Our relationship… our love… could be discovered… I mean… you are the… the one who… wants to… keep it a secret."

"Mmm…" the Maximal's left arm reaches up to pull the Predacon closer to his neck while using his other hand to stroke against the Predacon's thigh. Optimus hears a muted groan from the Predacon's kisses and grins. Amused, the Maximal continues.

"True, I did ask for the secrecy, but I guess if someone should find out… then I'd certainly come clean. Of course, nothing to stop us then… the news would spread fast."

"And what about… supposed rebellious… actions…?" Megatron suddenly pauses a moment. "Okay that would be more my problem than yours…" Optimus laughs then turns his head and pulls Megatron into a kiss.

"I love you," the Maximal says and pulls his lover into another, much deeper kiss. Suddenly he feels them break as Megatron steps back and towards the side of Optimus's desk.

The Maximal stares at him curiously.

"Well, if you must have a winner for the wars," Megatron opens his arms and lowers them in submission, "then I surrender." Optimus stares at the Predacon, wondering if it's a joke for the moment.

"What?" he laughs slightly.

"I surrender," Megatron says seriously. "Put me in chains and take me to your crew. You can say I broke in and you stopped me. If you need a good excuse as to how I got in without activating the defenses…" he moves the arm with the signal masking band on it.

"What… why?" Optimus stutters in surprise.

"You love me, I love you. I find that a good reason right there. Not to mention, you wouldn't have to worry about you or me sneaking back and forth to see each other." Optimus stares, then closes his eyes and shakes his head in amusement. He calmly walks over and shoves the Predacon onto his back on the Maximal's desk. Megatron looks shocked and confused as Optimus crawls on top of the Predacon. Finally, they are face to face.

"You are something! First, I try discussing this in a serious manner but you insist on treating it like a game. Finally, you get my servos going and I start playing along… but now you go and surrender an entire war to me. I swear you drive me mad!" He collapses against his Predacon lover in disgust.

"For the record, you're the one who started this whole 'who will win' conversation. I just thought you'd like an answer." Optimus looks up into his lover's face and steals a quick kiss.

"Frankly, and truthfully, at this point I feel like I've won enough." He presses another kiss onto his lover before raising the Predacon's arm with the band up.

"So how much longer is this thing supposed to last?" Megatron looks at it with slight interest.

"I say about two to three more days." Optimus smiles slyly at the Pred.

"Enough for a second round?" he asks.

"Second? How about a third, fourth, and fifth! If we're lucky…" Megatron purrs causing Optimus to laugh.

"If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: you are evil!" He wraps his arms around the Predacon and gives him a quick kiss.

"To which, I will always reply…" Megatron steals another kiss. "That's why I'm the bad guy…" He pulls the Maximal close for another deeper kiss and into another 'round.'

>>>>>>>

"See! See! There it was again!" Rhinox quickly turns and stares at the screen that Rattrap is pointing at. Nothing.

"Aaand?" the bot inquires. A shocked expression appears on Rattrap's face.

"Augh! Again?" he snarls. "You missed it again! I cannot believe you missed it again! I swear! You are so slow to catch on! I could just…!" As Rattrap continues to fume, Rhinox, Cheetor, and Silverbolt look to one another in silent thought. They turn back to the seething Rattrap, than back to each other, and nod. Before he can utter another word of protest, the three over come the rodent.

"Hey! Hey! Let me go!" he screams out as they hold him off the ground.

"Oh, no, rat face! You're going to get some rest whether you like it or not!" Cheetor states.

"You're obviously in need of it," Rhinox adds.

"So we're going to make sure you get it," Silverbolt finishes. He calmly follows the other two down the hall while carrying a cable to help tie the rodent down in his bed.

"You can't do this! I'm telling you there's a Pred near here! I know it!" Rattrap screams as they take him away to his 'prison.' The others never noticing the truth as a Pred signature quickly appears on the screen, only to quickly disappear again.

**>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>**

**_Pawsy:_** Well, that was fun!  
**_Megatron:_** What was_? >Pawsy & Tarantulas quickly cover computer screen> _  
**_Both:_** Nothing! >_Suddenly Pawsy looks over to Tarantulas>_  
**_Pawsy:_** Are you touching my laptop? >_Tarantulas looks down and then jumps back with his arms behind him>  
**Tarantulas: **_Nooooo…  
**_Megatron:_** Whatever… >_leaves>**  
Tarantulas:**_ Does he know about the, uh…  
**_Pawsy:_** Notta a clue-a… Well, that's that. Hope you enjoy readers!


	2. New Years Eve

Pawsy: Aww…you guys deserved it. You bugged me and bugged me and bugged me….and not like I haven't been thinking of this little couple constantly. But whatever! You got your wish! A second chapter! Maybe a third in the making if my muse will allow. Ha ha! Consider it a (extremely) belated gift to you guys, my readers, I love you!

Tarantulas: Doesn't own Beast Wars.

Pawsy: Nope. So enjoy your chapter and let me go back to listening to their little theme song. ;) Say Anything's "Alive With the Glory of Love" I think of these two bots every time I hear it…unless you guys know better songs. I could go for soundtrack to listen to in my car.

Tarantulas: …Oh, I don't need the images…

.:--:.

New Years Eve

It was the middle of winter, and a fresh blanket of snow covered the ground. There was nothing too special about that, but all the same, the bot was excited. He was getting to spend some time with his lover; they would welcome the new year together.

Once outside the base, Optimus Primal converted to flight mode. He'd made sure to leave Rhinox in charge. Rhinox hadn't the penchant for asking those unwanted questions. Just as well, as Optimus had no intention of spilling. Only he and his lover knew as to where he was headed. He made for the forest, choosing to cruise, so as not to draw attention to himself. Hidden within the forest was a clearing made just for them. Both had agreed to meet there. He hoped that a certain saurian was already there. The Predacon did tend to dally when summoned.

He had sent the signal out at least two mega-cycles ago. Surely Megatron would be out there by now. As he approached his destination, he changed from flight mode to transformer to better hide his trail. A bit of an ironic choice as he started to trudge through the deep snow. Still, it was much more silent than the roar of the jets on his hover-board.

"Slag," Optimus muttered. If the snow wasn't cold, it was certainly hard to move through the substance. Even now the white powder is up to the joints of his leg. It was almost impossible to believe some animals easily maneuvered its depths. Then again, he wasn't exactly built for this kind of terrain. Just as the snow began to thin, he saw his destination. Not too far away there was a clearing through the trees that opened to a small area. To the common spectator, there was nothing special about this corner of the planet. But for a protoform with the correct coordinates would know it was where the ape and Megatron always met outside of their bases.

Now where was that Predacon?

"Late. Again…" the Maximal growled quietly to himself. Naturally, had the Predacon made the call to meet he would have been here at the exact nano-click, waiting like a loyal dog. But should Optimus ask for his presence, he would always appear late, saundering up like an alley cat. He sighed and waited for a few more cycles. Nothing.

He finally decided to look around at the frozen scenery in an attempt to avoid his growing boredom. Now that he noticed his surroundings, they were beautiful. A white sheet of ice delicately covered the entire area and glistened under the sunlight. Even the smallest crevices of the forest floor were touched by at least a small cluster of flakes. It was accompanied by a crisp chill blowing through the trees that caused a few of the looser flakes to dance with the wind. It was quickly followed by a clean scent that highlighted the innocence of the land. Shame…Cyberton never had snow. Then again, the substance on Cybertron paled in comparison to view it left on the organic planet. In all honesty, the Maximal can't even begin to compare his home to earth's natural splendors.

Now lost in the hypnotizing beauty of his surroundings, Optimus never heard the dragging steps of the approaching figure. He felt a small yelp escape from his vocal processor as two arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back into a soft embrace.

"Out alone? Now, don't you think that's a little dangerous?" a voice said coolly, "It seems to leave you open for ambush from the enemy." A bit amused, Optimus quietly chuckled before he turned around and pulled the metal saurian into a kiss. To the ape's delight, it was eagerly returned.

"Guess I'll take my chances," the Maximal stated with a smile before stealing another quick kiss. Then suddenly, he quickly smacked Megatron on the arm.

"Hey! What is that for?" the Predacon snapped in surprise.

"You're late. Again!" Optimus retorted sharply. Then just as suddenly, his irritation faded as he proceeded to nuzzle against his Predacon lover. Megatron's optics rose as he stared down at the ape.

"You are very strange at times…"

--

After a quick catch up, the two slowly walked hand in hand with Optimus leaning against the larger bot. They were both silent as they trekked, apparently lost to their own separate thoughts.

Should I ask him now? was the only question running through Primal's mind as they moved onward, side by side. He shifted his optics up slightly to see if he could begin to read the Predacon's expression. Megatron didn't seem to notice the sudden attention on him but the saurian wore a pleased look on his face anyway. It seemed the Predacon commander had quite the thought on his mind.

And that is? Optimus mused internally. Not to be too distracted, he quickly banished any tempting thoughts and turned to stand before Megatron. The Predacon snapped back to reality.

"Yes?" the rex asked, confused but intrigued by the sudden interest to gain his attention. Still holding his lover's hand, Optimus looked directly up and into the rex's optics. It was now or never.

"I want a truce," he stated. Megatron blanched for a second. That wasn't the statement he was expecting to be said.

"What?" the saurian asked while biting back a small bit of disappointment.

"I want a truce," Optimus stated again. "I hate to resort to more deceit for my troops but I want to try for a truce for the new year." As if the Predacon wasn't confused before, that statement sealed it for him.

"New…year?"

Optimus made to explain.

"Uh, yeah…I may…have gone digging into some Earth history…future….you know what I mean," the Maximal started, "anyway, using the human's calendar, I may have timed when the idea of a new year would arrive." Megatron stood there and listened as his lover continued.

"To the humans, it was a big celebration. I don't know. It seemed a bit interesting," the ape quickly concluded.

"Okay, but what's that got to do with a truce?" Megatron asked, already mulling over the plan.

"I just thought we could cease fire, just for the night of new years…a break from the war. I'm sure even your group wouldn't mind it. Then, they could relax and we could meet and celebrate in peace," Optimus pulled the rex closer into a light embrace. It felt good to get that off his chest. The two of them stood there in silence.

"I see…." Megatron finally broke the still quiet around them. Without another word, he pulled away from the Maximal's grip.

"No, I don't think it's going to work." Stunned, Optimus remained rooted to his spot.

"Well, I—what?" he managed to stammer.

"We can't do it," the Predacon sighed. "There would be too much suspicion. I mean, how odd for me would it be to suddenly declare a truce?"

"W-wait…are you're serious?" the ape scoffed. "As if you hadn't before?"

"Of course I have," Megatron muttered, "but at least I had some scheme to cover for breaking the truce last time as well." He moved a few steps away in an attempt to pace. Sometimes his best ideas came from doing such a ridiculous action.

"…no, I can't think of any 'cover' for our truce.." he stated again. The Maximal looked highly offended.

"So you don't even want to try my idea?"

"I just did."

"I've never seen you give up so quickly on anything before," the ape pointed out, "especially on any chance for us to be together…"

"Well, it would help to have a better idea to work with," Megatron shrugged. "Not with something as simple as a truce." Optimus sighed slightly.

"I suppose I could have--" It then hit him, "Hey! Are you calling my idea stupid?" The Predacon shook his head.

"Not stupid. Just pointless."

Biff!

He never saw it coming. Even now he stood there speechless, bits of snow flaking off the side of his face. Shocked, Megatron quickly turned around to see Optimus still in the same position from thirty nanoclicks before. The Maximal hadn't bothered to move after realizing his own actions. It was childish, but in his anger he threw a snowball at the Predacon. They both simply stood there, waiting for the other to speak.

"I, uh…I don't know what came over me," Optimus muttered. "I…I, er, didn't mean t--" Megatron beat the ape to the punch.

"You hit me!" he cried, pointing to the snow on the ground. "And with this substance no less!" The ape stared at his lover, his expression now flat.

"It didn't kill you," he placed his hand in the frozen particles again and drew a line, "And it is called snow." The Predacon now looked slightly peeved at being corrected.

"I'm well aware what it is called, Primal…" Optimus fell silent. Uh-oh. This wasn't good. He knew very well that Megatron never used the second half of his name except for two reasons: Either he was really mad or he had some devious thought conjured in his mental processor.

Biff!

It must have been the second one.

Optimus only realized he had fallen into the white crystals when he saw a few fly up into the air in alarm. A mix of shock and a much larger snowball had caught the Maximal commander completely off guard., causing him to stumble and fall back into the snow. He quickly sat up and glared at his attacker.

"Now…it's war…"

"Bring it, Maximal," Megatron smirked.

In a swift flurry of flakes, Optimus was back on his feet and scooping snow into one of his hands. He noticed Megatron doing the same so he quickly dived behind a tree to avoid a sudden oncoming shot.

Missed! Grinning, Optimus quickly wrapped around the tree's trunk and threw it at his 'enemy.' Megatron having yet to get to shelter was hit. The Maximal bit back a laugh as he heard the other commander swear his displeasure.

It was official. Optimus: 1. Megatron: 0. Optimus quickly grabbed more of his frozen ammunition and readied himself for another attack. He peered over the edge of the tree to see if he could find his target.

Baff! He found him alright…five inches from his face. Instead of running, Megatron had quickly appeared for a risky close combat shot. It proved to be a successful tactic as the score was now tied.

He didn't, however, factor in the consequence of this action. Now the Predacon stood directly in the line of fire without any defense. A fact the Maximal capitalized on for he had an arm full of pre-made snowballs and a wild grin plastered on his face.

"Slag."

Now running was all the Predacon could do to as his back was pummeled mercilessly with Optimus's fury. He tried to dive behind a tree but that led to no avail. His lover was too close on his heels to truly be shook off.

That was it! Megatron skidded to a halt before the onslaught behind him. Ducking from a shot, he grabbed a handful of the soft material, balled it up, and chunked it directly at the Maximal's face.

Bull's eye! The ape came to a sudden halt at the surprise attack, dropping his ammo as well. Defenseless! Megatron now snatched another handful of his frozen weaponry and chunked it at Optimus again.

Crack!

Strange…snow doesn't make that sound.

Megatron looked to his lover in horror. In his haste to for an attack, he never realized how deeply he plunged into the white substance. Apparently he got close to the ground to be able to pull up a rock into his grip. And as cold as it was, the hard object mingled in with the frozen fluff quite well. Oops. Well…mistakes happened right?

Everything spun for a moment. That was unexpected. Very, very unexpected. Optimus never thought that the light crystals would ever harden so quickly. Then again, did they? Once everything began to clear completely, he looked down at the offending shot and saw why his head was now throbbing. A rock. There before him wasn't a mound of fluffy, soft, white snow but a rock. A solid, hard, head-throbbing rock. Furious, the Maximal turned his sights forward to his lover. Megatron only managed to nervously grin back.

"Whoops?" he meekly said.

"What the slag, Megatron?!" The Predacon flinched. He didn't like that tone.

"I-It was an accident, I assure you…" That knocked you clear of your senses for a moment was probably a statement he shouldn't add right then. Trying to find some form of salvation for his action, he finally grabbed another snowball and held it out.

"Here. You get a free shot. Then we can be even," Optimus's expression remained unchanged but he did seem to consider the option.

"A free shot?"

"Yep!"

"And we'll be even?"

"Yeah."

"And you won't move?"

"No…

"You swear?"

"Yes, I swear…!"

"On your name and our love?"

"For the love of Primus, Primal!"

"…"

Okay…now the silence was beginning to disturb the Predacon but not as much as what happened next. Optimus was about to get his free shot. He made sure of it as he pulled out his hip gun. The Predacon could feel his spark stop for a moment.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??"

"Getting a free shot," Optimus stated calmly, his expression still the same.

"BUT WITH A--"

"Yes."

"BY THE PIT, YOU WILL NOT--"

"You swore you wouldn't move…"

"You're going to SHOOT m--"

"On you name."

"To the PIT with my na-"

"And on our love…"

Megatron fell silent. Okay, there was no way he could back down now…but was his lover seriously going to shoot him? He seemed angry enough. Quite miffed in fact. No doubt about it...

"Optimus…" he pleaded silently, hoping to sway the Maximal's decision. Sure, it wasn't as if he could go to a CR tank to be healed later. The thought of being shot by his love, now that hurt. And all over some ridiculous fight in the snow. He shouldn't have agreed to come here...

He braced himself as Optimus charged his gun and aimed. With a quick tug at the trigger, he fired. The shot connected but not on the Predacon. Opening his optics, Megatron noticed the stray shot hit a tree not but six feet behind him. Strange…it didn't seem like Optimus to miss at so close a targ--

Fwump!

Optimus powered down the weapon and placed it back at his side. Once done, he casually walked over to the Predacon that was now buried under three feet of snow that had loosened itself from the tree limbs. He stopped millimeters from the twitching hand of the snow covered saurian and grinned.

"Now, we're even," he mused. He reached down to help his lover out of the winter assault.

The help became unnecessary as the Predacon was suddenly out and on his feet again, a fresh snowball formed in revenge for the terror he just endured. Shocked, Optimus quickly grabbed onto Megatron's wrists to prevent him from moving his arms and thus attacking him again. The two stood there and struggled for dominance. One wrong move and the loser would be hit by the soft weapon. Optics locked upon each other, both mentally swore they would not submit.

At least they tried to. Before they knew it, their determined glares turned into sarcastic smirks. From there to devious chuckling to a slight snickering. Before they even knew it, the ammo had been abandoned as the two bots reclined in the snow, laughing loudly at the childishness they had participated in.

It took them a few cycles to finally calm themselves, in which Optimus pulled at Megatron's arm to come over to him. The Predacon didn't have to ask why, merely move through the winter wonderland so he was close enough to kiss his lover deeply.

--

They lay in the snow, holding each other close, still breathing heavily over their recent activity, however foolish it was. Their systems filled with the cool air as they looked to sky to watch the sun start its decent for the evening. Didn't matter what each thought of the planet, sunsets looked beautiful everywhere. It especially glowed against the ,somewhat unsettled, frozen landscape.

"Optimus…" The ape tore his optics from the glorious view to a better sight.

"Yes, Megatron?" The rex held his lover closer upon hearing his name. He lightly nuzzled against the Maximal.

"This New Year's….when is it?" Having forgotten about his suggestion earlier, Optimus had to take a moment to remember the date.

"Tomorrow night," he sheepishly muttered. He heard a light laugh come from the saurian.

"Cutting it a bit close, don't you think?" The Predacon mused. Optimus bit back an irritated sigh.

"It took me a moment to find what was seemed to be the correct date, alright? It just happened to take more time to synch it with the time now than it did to find the date…" his voiced trailed at the end to hide his slight embarrassment. "Why the sudden interest?"

"Well…while the idea of a 'human'," the saurian said the word with disgust, an action Optimus overlooked naturally, "holiday doesn't thrill me…I am rather intrigued in using it to our benefit. However…it would seem rather hard to pull off a truce that lasts only for a day, two at the most…"

"Don't remind me," Optimus groaned. "I was thinking a bit irrationally when the idea came to me."

"Just a bit," Megatron grinned. "However, I'm thinking we forget the truce. Let's just wait the holiday out on neutral ground."

"Just disappear for the next two days?"

"Why not? I've done it before, if you recall," the saurian smirked at the light mentioning of their previous meetings. Optimus laughed slightly.

"Of course. And my excuse…" he mulled it over quickly, "eh, had to clear my mind. They can drive me nuts sometimes."

The Predacon didn't bother biting back the laugh that errupted at the comment. He could only imagine the other Maximals' expressions if they heard that statement come from their leader.

Optimus, however, let his mind wonder elsewhere. There was one question that still tugged at the back of his mind. It seemed his curiosity showed on his face for Megatron was staring at the ape again.

"What?" he asked.

"It's nothing, just…" the Maximal looked to his reptilian lover with a slightly amused look. "Earlier…when we were walking. You seemed to have you mind anywhere but on this planet." Megatron stared back.

"Not that it looked like it was bad thought. You looked rather pleased over it. I was just curious," his grin broadened slightly, "but what could you possibly have been thinking about?"

The Predacon continued to stare at his lover, then stopped to think a moment. Suddenly it came back to him, much like that same pleased, if not devious, look from earlier.

"I was just thinking of how cold it was…" he smirked, "and just how good it would feel to 'warm up' later…" Optimus blinked at the response before chuckling.

"I swear…" he shook his head. "You are SO evil!"

"Heh….again, that is why I'm the bad--" Megatron never go to finish his statement as Optimus pulled the saurian close and into a heated kiss.

.:--:.

Pawsy: .:_jaw drop_:.

Tarantulas: Didn't expect the chapter to go that long?

Pawsy: .:_shake head slowly_:. I'd like to thank…my KITTEN OF INSPIRATION!! .:_picks up snoozing kitten from lap_:. Seriously, she's been in my lap the entire time I was writing this…

Tarantulas: …weird

Pawsy: Tell me 'bout it. Wish I could draw transformormers now. The imager here is too cute. .:_look again_:. Guh, Optimus came out way more uke than I expected.

Optimus: That doesn't mean I always am.

Pawsy: 0.0.……TEEEEELLL!!

Tarantulas: 00.…….0o….…0x……


End file.
